Spelling+Inventory

__**Spelling Inventory Assessment**__

The purpose of the spelling inventory assessment through the “Monster Test” was to assess student’s developmental spelling progress so teachers may design instruction more efficiently and effectively to transition students toward spelling competency. Spelling is a crucial element of phonics, word study, and vocabulary which ultimately translate into the components of proper reading and writing. “Vocabulary and word use play a central role in the connections that intermediate and advanced readers forge between reading and writing. From adolescence on, most of the new vocabulary student learn… comes from reading and reflects new domains of content specific knowledge… Studying spelling-meaning connections is central to maximizing this vocabulary growth” (Baer, 19). The assessment of spelling is also important to spelling instruction. One of the best methods to assess spelling is through spelling inventories or lists of words that represent different spelling features and patterns at increasing difficulty level. “ The words in spelling inventories are designed to assess student’s knowledge of key spelling features that relate to all different spelling stages…The results are then analyzed to obtain a general picture of their development” (Baer 28). Following are the results from the “Monster Test”, our spelling inventory, and therefore, the child’s unique image of their spelling maturity. On March 3, 2011 at approximately 9:10 a.m., I called Jim out into the hallway with me and instructed him to bring a pencil. He seated himself at the desk at the hallway while I sat against the wall and next to the desk. I reminded him that I wanted to be a teacher, but how I was so worried about it because I was a horrible speller. I confided in him my biggest fear was that my students would be able to spell better than I could and that they would all laugh at me when I spelt a word wrong. So I told him that I had some words that I wasn’t sure of the spelling and that I hoped he could help me by spelling some of my words for me. With that he agreed, and I administered him a piece of paper and the ten spelling words according to the directions. I first read the word and then read the given sentence and then stated the word a second time. The test concluded at 9:20 a.m. Jim is an interesting third grader who is a proficient reader and writer but struggles with math and spelling. He is in one of my cooperating teacher lowest spelling groups where he is just finished learning words with the blends “squ”, “thr”, “qui”, “shr”, etc. He is an extremely shy student who rarely speaks or even shows emotion. The methodology of the spelling inventory test was conducted through the “Monster Test” created by Dr. J. Richard Gentry. The test provides ten words to test a student on and directions of the test administration. The proctor is to give the word, read the given sentence with the word in it, and then state the word again. After the assessment there is a rubric to analyze spellings with the developmental stage of the spelling and the corresponding spelling for each word in every category. A description of the five developmental spelling stages: 1) precommunicative, 2) semiphonetic, 3) phonetic, 4) transitional, 5) conventional is also included in the Monster test assessment packet to better understand the child’s thinking process in spelling and to what level they need to attain and through what learning strategies. Jim worked calmly but intently on his “Monster Test”. Some words he effortlessly recorded while others he stopped to ponder or reconsider and rewrite after I repeated the word a second time. What was concluded after reviewing his work was that he spelled seven out of ten words correctly, making him an overall conventional speller for having 70% of words spelled correctly. For the words spelt incorrectly which we united (spelt Unetid), bottom (spelt bottom), and eagle (spelt egale) prove that for these words, Jim is in the transitional spelling stage. Jim is classified under this stage for these words because he spells them the way in which they appear visually or what he remembers seeing them as in other contexts, also the spelling of these words exhibit conventions of English orthography including vowels in every syllable and frequent English letter sequences (CVCV). From these words it was also noted that Jim uses all the correct letters in the words just not in the correct sequence. It can also be concluded that Jim spells phonetically. When spelling united, he writes an “i” instead of an “e” so that the “ted” in united is spelt the way it sounds as “tid”. Similarly, he uses vowel patterns to his knowledge too when he spells eagle with the “g” before the “a”. His thinking process is “e-gal” but he knows that because the “a” is long and because of conventional spelling patterns, there must be an “e” at the end to make the “a” long. Bottom he spelt phonetically as well and more so by the syllable separation of the words. In “Bo-tom”, it sounds as though there is only one “t ”although it is really “bot-tom” with two “t’s”. As for words that he corrects, monster he began spelling like montser but then erases it switching the “s” and “t” correctly. Also in spelling eagle, he initially spelt it egle but again knew from transitional spelling; from sight that there was an “a” in eagle or that eagle was not only four letters long. Overall, I feel that Jim faired well on the “Monster Test” and will soon master all these words transitioning him to a conventional speller. Overall, Jim is a proficient speller spelling 70% of the words correctly placing him in the conventional spelling stage. The words he did not spell correctly were classified in the transitional stage, and therefore only one stage away from conventional. Also the note that he uses all the correct letters but in the wrong order proves that he has some mastery of the words due to sight and/ or phonetic spelling. What I would suggest for total mastery of these words is to reteach syllable junctures since he spelled bottom with only one “T”, Inflicted endings for spelling United incorrectly and finally Diphthongs because of the misspelling of eagle. I may compile a list of words with these patterns for his next spelling list and then do a variety of activities with these words including word sorts, 3 x each, and writing the words in a sentence so to connect the word to a meaning. Finally, it is important for students to see these words frequently in reading and to use them often when writing to transcend the purposes of spelling inventories. “Spelling inventory results should be compared to what we learn about students’ orthographic knowledge in terms of their reading and writing” (Baer 37). When you connect spelling to reading and writing, it gives students a purpose and drive to engage in their spelling explicitly and want to learn more about the way of words.
 * The purpose of the assessment**
 * Introduction of the child and setting**
 * Methodology for using the assessment tool**
 * Description of your findings**
 * Discussion of how you would use these findings to inform instruction**


 * Notes**